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Today; David Gill has said only a ‘visible minority’ of fans are in support of the Green and Gold Campaign, The Glazers have said the club is ‘not for sale’ – at the same time it has been revealed that they spent £40 Million of Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80M transfer money refinancing debt. And funnily enough to add to this BBC’s Panorama will be invetsigating the findings…

So, a round-up of today’s action;


Early Morning:  David Gill: “The money is there. People say Alex is saying that because he has to. Anyone who knows Alex Ferguson knows he wouldn’t say that if he didn’t mean what he said. The money is definitely there. The results for the quarter ending 31 March (released today) will show the figures are about £95 Million cash.”

“We are not in a situation whereby Alex is restricted in what he wants to do with the club and his modus operandi as a manager. We have never said: ‘You can’t do that, we have to pay interest (on the debt).’ I can look you in the eye and say that. He would say exactly the same thing. People don’t believe it. We never said to him: ‘You can’t go for that player because he’s too much’.”

“The Green and Gold Campaign and the momentum behind that can get a bit tiring,” he added. “We understand people’s desire to protest and I think it is a minority. It’s a visible minority in the stadium. Would we prefer not to have them (Green and Gold scarves) ? – Yes. They have a right to protest. A lot of the fans clearly care about the club and that is a strength.”

“But a lot of the other fans want to know that the team is playing attractive football, exciting Manchester United-style football, winning football. Who owns it is a bit irrelevant to them. I think that minority will go away. A lot of people understand what it means but a lot of them don’t.”

Noon:  Statement from the Manchester United Board: “The Board notes recent press speculation regarding a possible bid for Manchester United. The owners remain fully committed to their long-term ownership of the club. Manchester United is not for sale and the owners will not entertain any offers.”


Afternoon:  Manchester United spent the equivalent of half the proceeds from the £80 Million Cristiano Ronaldo sale on refinancing their debt earlier this year, the club’s latest set of financial figures reveal today. The quarterly results for the period January to end of March 2010 show an apparently buoyant economic picture, with cash reserves of £95.9M and a turnover that has increased £26M to £219M from the corresponding nine-month period last year. 

But the Glazer Family are continuing to increase the debt burden on the club. Analysis of United’s accounts shows that the club made a one-off loss of £40.7M on interest rate swaps in the first quarter of the year, in order to change to a more favourable fixed deal after the club lost out to the sharp fall in interest rates.

This club have already paid off £12.7M of this – the equivalent of revenue from this season’s Champions League home games – and the remaining £28M will be absorbed by United over the next five years. Despite the vast cash reserves, it is unlikely manager Sir Alex Ferguson will see too much of the money in the way of a summer transfer kitty. The £45M annual interest bill already soaks up half of the cash reserves.

Furthermore, although the overall debt in the club has decreased from £543.3M in March 30th 2009 to £520M, it has increased by £12M since the Glazers took out a £500M bond in January to refinance what the club calls their ‘senior debt’. The big mystery surrounds the notorious payment in kind (PIK) loans, which, although not revealed in the results posted by the football club, are estimated to have grown to £225M. They are set to rise even further with the interest rate due to jump to 16.25% in August.

In the latest annual accounts, to July 2009, debts at the parent company ‘Red Football Joint Venture’ increased to £716.5M. Based on today’s figures, that could comfortably exceed £750M, by the end of the current financial year. One City source told Goal.com UK: “This is a very well run football club with a scary bank sheet attached to it. If you take away the debt and look at the football club it is a resounding success story making huge amounts of money. Below the club sit some very nasty financial details.”

The last few months has witnessed a public battle between the club and The Red Knights, the group of wealthy individual supporters, with the two parties offering hugely differing estimates of United’s value. The Glazers made a clear statement in the accounts today that the club is “not for sale and the owners will not entertain any offers”. (above)

Earlier today, chief executive David Gill said that with the financing in place at the club and the growth in its commercial operations, United could “still be a top, top club” (also above). He told the Independent: “We can invest in players, invest in the training ground – we have plans for that – invest in the stadium and do those things. The money is definitely there. We are not in a situation where Alex is restricted in what he wants to do with the club.”

However, this is unlikely to placate the critics. Duncan Drasdo, Chief Executive of The Independent Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), said: “The Glazers have said almost nothing for the last five years but all of a sudden with a supporter friendly takeover bid being assembled and supporters threatening not to renew season tickets they are in a real panic. Of course they won’t say anything in person – they hide behind their PR people and club employees. David Gill wouldn’t be defending them if he wasn’t an employee. When the Glazers go perhaps we’ll hear his true feelings.”

“The fact is they’ve put no money in – not a single penny. The money used to purchase the club went to the shareholders, not the club and of course they borrowed the vast majority of that money and then transferred the debt to the club.” he added. (Goal UK)


Evening:  Manchester United’s finances under the ownership of the Glazer family, the club’s £712 Million debt and the £80 Million raised by the 2009 sale of Cristiano Ronaldo are set to be the subject of an investigation by ‘Panorama’, the BBC Current Affairs Programme.

United, who are due to announce quarterly financial results on Friday as a condition of the club’s £500 Million bond issue, have yet to co-operate with the programme makers ahead of the proposed screening date of June 7th.

But with manager Sir Alex Ferguson having not spoken to the BBC since accusing the corporation of ‘breathtaking arrogance’ following a 2004 Panorama expose into the alleged business dealings of his son, Jason, the programme is unlikely to soothe relations. Although the investigation is understood to be based on a broad theme of football club ownership and the game’s financial health, the situation surrounding The Glazers and attempts by The Red Knights to launch a supporter-backed takeover bid for United are believed to form the main thrust of the programme.

Despite The Glazer Family’s consistently-stated determination to resist any takeover bid, supporter groups behind the Green and Gold Anti-Glazer Campaign continue to claim that the Americans’ business interests in their home country, which include nationwide shopping malls and real estate, are suffering as a result of the economic downturn. Those claims, and suggestions that United’s income is being used to service the club’s debt, are understood to form part of the Panorama Investigation. (Telegraph)